Discussion

Three more new & mediocre places in Pasadena

I know I'll get push back for this but here we go. Three more new & mediocre places in Pasadena ranked from very mediocre to mediocre:

1. Creme de la Crepe - very mediocre: none of the food was hot and all of it was poorly seasoned. The crepes, especially the buckwheat ones, sucked = not soft, overdone. My eggs benedict was tasteless. Service was spotty and it's a small place.

2. Bob's Big Boy - mediocre plus: Brand new so the place is clean as a whistle. The service was attentive. The food was even hot. I was a fool to expect anything better than Burbank. Yes, the malt was good but the fries were greasy and the burger literally had no taste. Nostalgic yes, tasty no.

And finally...

3. Slaw dogs - mediocre: Listen, before you take swings at me just remember: Don't hate the player, hate the game. The owner and his mother are very nice. And the fudge his wife makes is good. But, the compliments stop there. Our party had the following: spicy polish on the grill combo with potato salad, Chili cheese dog with onions, and a vienna? dog with kraut, swiss and mustard combo with sweet potato fries. My spicy polish was grilled but not that spicy (compare to Carney's which is more similar a dog or Fabs which is totally different, they are much more spicy) and the bun was not fresh. How can that be? They just opened. My chili cheese dog quality, the actual dog, was not so great and totally fell apart when I was eating it. The bun was not fresh. Finally, the vienna dog my friend had, she said was ok, but they forgot to put the swiss on. We were dining at an off hour so you would think they could get the order right. The sweet potato fries were perfectly cooked but my potato salad was NOT COLD and served on a limp piece of lettuce. Final bitch: It was expensive. Despite all of this, I am going to give it a few more chances because I want them to succeed. My prediction is that they will not be there February 2011.

As for Creme de la Crepe and Bob's, you won't see me back.

Just remember that i am not a hater, just tellin' you how my meal was.

They'll be there next year if we have anything to do with it! We were there yesterday during a pretty busy time, and aside from some things not in line with my odd personal preferences (okay, so lots of people LIKE skin-on fries) we were pleased with what we had. The coleslaw wasn't cold, either, but I hate salads like that to be frigid; room temperature, please. The bun was just a bun, which (unlike what some have reported) did NOT fall apart. Not as good as Fab's, not as cheap as Fab's, but then we can't walk to Fab's either. And this place has room for more than eight people to sit down, too.

I've now been to Slaw Dogs twice and strongly disagree with your assessment.

Both times, I've made sure to order the natural casing dog (why would anybody not?). First time, I tried the eponymous "slaw dog." I wasn't thrilled with the slaw itself (not finely shredded enough, for one thing), but the rest of the concept (basically, a chili dog) was fine. My bun certainly wasn't stale, but I found that it did fall apart a bit too soon.

Second visit, I went for the natural casing dog again. Though it's not listed as an option, I noticed that they have basically all of the toppings necessary for a Chicago style dog. The counterman (owner, I believe) said they'd be happy to make it that way; it's just not listed on the menu. I went with the combo, which came with a side order of fries (skin on, cooked to a nice crispy outside without being overdone), a fountain drink, and a small square of fudge. Best part about the fries was that the last one was still quite warm when I was done, and not the slightest bit of grease on the paper lining the basket.

Biggest surprise was the hot dog itself: authentic Chicago-style Martian green relish (I didn't expect this at all), along with the pickle spear, tomatoes, onions and a slight slather of yellow mustard, and a fine dusting of celery salt on top (I would have liked one more shake, but that's me). The only element slightly off was the peppers: though billed as "sport peppers," they weren't. Instead, they were hot little yellow numbers found as a condiment at many area burger joints such as Lucky Boy, Top's, and the like. [Incidentally, I have never seen true sport peppers used anywhere except in conjunction with a Chicago dog].

I'm going to give them another chance but consider this: I thin we ate 3 different hotdogs and none of them were that great. That's 3 different dogs, not toppings. The spicy polish, not that spicy, not that great. The chili cheese dog, dog was not great quality. And finally, the vienna, which is not even close to the best kosher dog I have tasted. Plus there is no forgiving the buns. Either they were not totally fresh or not handled right (like steamed).

Hi Jack! Thanks for the info on the Chicago Dog. I looked over the topping items and decided it would be too expensive to get one (did he charge you extra for the extra toppings, since you get 3 for free?). Also, I love sport peppers - only place I have found them recently is in my fridge from my most recent trip to Chicago!! I also got the neon green relish.